


An Unexpected Gift

by chanchi76



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Android AU, AndroidHux, First Meet, M/M, kyluxsecretsanta2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:32:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanchi76/pseuds/chanchi76
Summary: After being forcefully separated from the famed First Order Industries, Kylo Ren finds himself at loss what to do with his life. He works through his confusion, taking on odd jobs to make a small living and settles into a simple lifestyle. But he can't truly escape his past—even if he tried cutting all the ties binding him to his old life. A shadow of his old rival returns and he finds that he may not be alone as he thought.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Helius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helius/gifts).



> A little gift for Helius for the Kylux Secret Santa 2018. I hope you enjoy, I did try my best with the "First Meet" request (and of course some classic "Enemies to Lovers").

“Look, there’s got to be some mistake—”

“No mistake. It’s shipped to this address. Your ID matches. It’s yours. I know how to do my job.”

“I didn’t order any—”

“This package can’t go back on the truck. It’s almost 3 times my package if I damage it trying to get it back on. If they paid this much for transport, they must have a good return policy. Now sign this, Buddy, I want to finish up my deliveries and clock out.”

And that was how Kylo Ren, freelance handyman, ended up dragging a possibly 200 pound box into his flat. He was lucky he owned a crowbar for unusual moments like this. It only took a matter of moments for him to rip the top of the box off and dig through a layer of styrofoam. His knuckle banged painfully on what he suspected was stainless steel. 

Right then, he regretted even answering the doorbell. He should’ve known better than to accept a package from his previous employer, First Order Industries, after they not so kindly handed him the pink slip. This was probably part of his severage package. 

Using the crowbar, he broke off the rest of the wood surrounding the crate with more rage than he intended. 

It was a fridge of some sorts. A cooling chamber if he wanted to use the correct terminology. He prefered, ‘high-tech icebox’. Whatever it was had 8 glowing green dots on the side. He assumed the colors yellow and red were involved if he left the package alone long enough. He didn’t know how long he had.

As he was watching, the 8th dot turned off. 

He grabbed the manila envelope that the delivery man shoved to him first. 

First off was the formal letter—the First Order being ‘oh so sorry’ for letting him go. And for all his ‘cherished’ years of service, he was his severance package. 

That was it. He even flipped the paper over, expecting to see some more writing. When the page was blank, he tore through the envelope searching for more instructions. 

Of course they would leave him with nothing. He should’ve known better. 

The fridge itself was probably coded to his biometrics. He was unsurprised the First Order kept his information. Think of it as leverage if he were to go public with some of their secrets. 

One touch to the handle and his suspicions were confirmed. There was the telltale beep of authorization and the internal bolts unlocked, followed by a loud hiss and a cloud of cold smoke as he opened the lid. The sterile, cold scent reached his nostrils. He waved through the smoke impatiently, pushing away the dark memories that tugged at him. 

The smoke cleared and he managed to make out...a leg. A human leg. 

He stumbled back in horror. 

Thankfully, the leg was intact. There appeared to be no dismemberment as far as he could tell—no blood loss either. 

His second thought was that the First Order was giving him a cadaver as a warning—Be quiet and you won’t end up like this—type of thing. It looked like a cadaver. The skin was ghostly pale, veins dark and violently visible beneath the translucent layer. 

But what surprised him was how flawless the skin looked. No injuries visible. No cuts or stitches from the autopsy. This wasn’t a cadaver. This was something else.

He was scrutinizing the person’s face, something was familiar about it. Then he remembered—

The red hair—now dulled due to the cold—the boney face. He’d recognize those cutting cheekbones. He was disgusted he couldn’t recognize the body sooner. How many times did he have spats which more or less ended in sabotage? 

He slammed the fridge shut, scrambling to put as much distance between himself and the icebox. His breathing had gone astray, he could only imagine how horror struck his face looked. His phone was within grasp—he could call someone—anyone. 

His mother—he didn’t want to think about speaking to her. Not after what happened to Han. Rey? What would he even say to her? How could he explain what the First Order had sent him? He didn’t even know. 

He wasn’t even marked ‘missing’ yet. He would only be dragging Rey down if she got caught in the crosshairs of the investigation. 

He swallowed heavily, feeling his throat clench as he gazed at the icebox. He wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. But there was no return address or contact information for such a thing. All he had was the letter and the shredded envelope, with no postmarks. 

The First Order had sent him Armitage Hux, former director of the Dark Matter project, codename: Starkiller. Kylo’s former rival and now part of his severance package.


	2. Chapter 2

30 minutes later and his curiosity got the better of him. And he was back prying open the fridge door for another look. The horror and shock had not worn out yet, he was still treading with caution.

He wondered what lengths the First Order had to go through to dispose of their director. Especially one so infamous as Hux. The man had backup plans on backup plans. As long as Kylo knew him, Hux had plenty of safeguards in the case the First Order tried to dispose of him. 

Hux was sleeping—or dead—Kylo wasn’t ruling that option out either. He was curled up in the fetal position, stark naked. 

He glanced at the fridge. There had to be some controls to turn the cold off. 

The touchpad on the bottom right corner looked promising. A few scans here and a steady hum filled the room as the system powered down. 

He didn't think the First Order had technology like this, or he would’ve heard about it. The ability to freeze a being for an indiscernible amount of time was groundbreaking. They could make billions in the industry if this came out. Freezing their enemies sounded petty was not completely unexpected, but unreasonable for the money hungry company. 

Another 2 minutes later and he realized this was not going as quickly as he hoped. And he didn’t have the patience to stand around waiting all day for Hux to defrost. 

So he went about his day, doing laundry, looking up odd jobs he could pick up to make money. He checked on the box every hour or so, making sure it didn’t catch fire and burn down his apartment. That would be too much for him to handle. 

It was almost 5 o’clock when the icebox shut off completely, it’s reverse freezing program completed. The apartment was deadly quiet. 

Kylo, who’d been in the next room trying to patch a hole in his torn shirt, abandoned his prospects and hurried to the living room. 

He got there in time to see a pale hand grip the side of the box as Hux pulled himself up. 

The man looked better than before. Instead of looking like the living dead, Kylo was relieved to see life coloring his cheeks at the very least. He was smaller than he thought, broad shoulders, but bones jutting out where flesh should’ve covered a healthy body. 

Hux stepped out of the box, fingers slicking back his hair. A useless gesture, as the dry mop fell back into place within seconds. He probably expected his product to be there. 

“Can I help you?” He asked sharply, blue eyes darting to Kylo’s frozen form from across the room. His tone was familiar, though usually Kylo heard it after they ran into each other. Hux would also be more or less better clothed. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” 

“I don’t think you have that right.” Hux said. It was the same argument, almost like they were back at First Order Industries. He narrowed his eyes. “You are the one rudely staring. I believe it should be you telling me.”

“You’re naked. In my home. I just defrosted you from that box. I have a right to be staring.”

“Naked is a lack of clothing. It’s hardly something to be offended about.” Kylo wished he would show some sort of modesty, instead of standing there unabashedly and refuting all of his claims. 

“Get out of my apartment, Hux. I don’t need this. Take your box with you.” He turned around, intending to head back to his room to work again when Hux spoke again,

“I cannot.” 

“You can’t or you won’t?” As always, Hux hardly batted an eye at his temper. 

“Are you hard of hearing? I said, ‘I cannot’. I cannot leave this place.”

“And why n—”

“You are the one who activated me. I’m afraid I’m stuck here until my systems update. I’ve been out for quite some time, it seems.” Hux looked around the room, looking very much like he was judging all of Kylo’s attempts at decorations. 

“The First Order sent you here. I don’t want you here. So get out. I don’t want some crazy lunatic who infused themselves with too much dark matter wandering about my apartment.” His statement gave Hux pause. 

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” 

“Of course I do. You’re that lunatic, Hux. You always wanted to be Snoke’s lapdog.”

“I’m an android, you fool.” Hux snorted, striding forward and placing a hand on the fridge. “It says so if you bothered to read the information on the diagnostics screen here. But of course you didn’t. Hardly anyone does. There was also an information guide in the packaging.”

“No there wasn—” Hux held up a pamphlet hidden in the pile of wood and styrofoam. The words ‘Household Companion’ lettered below the First Order logo. 

“I’m an android. Number 5 out of 6. I figured you knew my name since you called me by name, but I was mistaken. It’s a rare occurrence so don’t get used to it. The first thing I’d like to do is fix this room, your furniture is atrocious. Your kitchen table doesn’t match the chairs. And there’s dust all over the kitchen. How do you live here?”

“I’m living fine here by myself. I didn’t invite you over.”

“No you didn’t invite me. But someone else ordered me here and I think you know who that was.” Kylo stopped and gave his question a fair thought. There was only one person who would do something like this. He tried very hard to forget about it. 

“Snoke?” Hux shrugged. 

“It hardly matters who. They don’t matter. I cut ties with them the moment I woke up. You are the one I listen to now.”

“I don’t want you.”

“I don’t care.” Hux spoke with finality. Kylo merely turned and went back to his room. This all felt like a bad dream. Hux didn’t attempt to follow him, or try and change his mind. In fact, he heard nothing at all from the man—or whatever he was—as he turned his music up to ear splitting volume and proceeded to try and lose his thoughts by diving into tech work.


	3. Chapter 3

Kylo woke up at 4 am, his stomach tearing his insides apart with hunger. The light hurt his eyes and his clothes felt terrible after having involuntarily slept in them. He sat up and listened, trying to hear the telltale signs of movement around his apartment. 

He crept out of his room, scanning the area for signs of Hux. He even peeked around the corner to the living room and breathed a sigh of relief when there was no one there. 

The crate and the fridge were gone and the floor was swept up. Even the scrapes he accidentally put there while trying to maneuver it through the door were cleaned up too. He didn’t even hear the sound of a heavy appliance moving around the room.

He was just opening the fridge when a cold voice came from behind him, 

“I made food, it should be right in the front.”

He jumped, nearly breaking the fridge door in the process. Hux had snuck up behind him and he didn’t even notice. The man was standing a few feet away, arms cross, wearing a sweater a few sizes too big for his shoulders. He didn’t even recognize the clothing he had on. But there was no doubt Hux had been digging through his drawers. 

“You didn’t wake up when I finished. So I put it away in case you were hungry later. You shouldn’t make a habit of eating so late, it’s bad for the body.”

“Don’t make me stuff.” He said. But he was grateful to see the plate of food waiting for him on the shelf. He shoved the plate, plastic wrap and all, into the fridge. And as a second thought, he added, “And don’t sneak up on me.”

“Had you been paying attention you would’ve noticed my entrance. I’m not exactly the quietest.”

“What did you do with the box?” 

“I placed it out of the way. Near the trash can so I could take it out tomorrow. Today, actually.”

“Where?” He followed Hux’s gaze over to the door. There was a small lump of metal next to the small trash bin, maybe no more than a foot or two tall. “How did—did you smash that down to that?”

“I told you, I’m an android. It’s easy for me to do something like that. I’m far stronger than the average human.”

“Are you wearing my sweater? And my pants?” Hux glanced down at himself. He didn’t look the least bit concerned by Kylo. 

“It was at the back of your closet. I assumed you didn’t need them. I also took the liberty of folding your laundry and cleaning your bedroom. It was quiet unorganized.”

“You were in my room?” Hux stared at him. Perhaps confused at why Kylo was so annoyed. And Kylo had every right to be annoyed. There was no reason for him to be in his room. None at all. He didn’t want Hux there. Not when the annoying man was such a pain back at the First Order. He was the backstabbing type. And Kylo was one of those who would very much like to wake up every morning.”

“I said I was going to rearrange your home. You live in a mess. How you can get anything done is beyond my comprehension.”

“Don’t touch anything else. I thought I told you to get out.”

“I cannot—”

“I don’t care that you can’t. You have legs. Get out of my house. You don’t belong here. I don’t want you here.” 

“Sir, I cannot leave without—”

He didn’t let Hux try to explain himself. He grabbed the man’s small wrists and yanked him towards the door. Hux gave surprisingly little resistance—which made Kylo all the more mad due to his earlier protests. 

He threw him out the front door, right when the microwave beeped. Then he slammed the door shut, drew the deadbolt and stomped back to the kitchen. 

His temper didn’t leave him. He slammed the plate onto the counter, ripping the plastic wrap to tatters as it stretched and pulled at the plate’s edges. He missed the trash can, knowing full well it hit an obscure corner of the kitchen he wouldn’t be able to reach later on. 

He had to grudgingly admit the food was delicious. The first bite took the edge off of his temper. Hux had prepared a simple rice dish. From what sparse ingredients he had on the fridge, he had gotten quite creative. 

He was feeling guilty when he finished. He didn’t expect that. Then he saw the spotless sink. Whatever Hux had cooked on, he had washed—along with all the rest of Kylo’s dishes from the past 3 days. He glanced at the stove, seeing it grease free for the first time since he moved in. It was also, miraculously, dish free. 

“All right.” Hux had not left the front door. He looked expectant, like he knew Kylo would invite him in after his temper had waned. “You can come back in. But don’t go into my room, you hear? I don’t want you in there.”

“It’s already clean,” Hux said, following Kylo back into the flat. He beelined to the sink, starting up the water to clean the dirty dish Kylo had left behind. “How was your meal?”

“It was good.”

“I was hoping tomorrow I would have a chance to get better food. But I could only make what you had. Did you know you have several molding bread loaves at the back of your fridge?”

“Yeah, I kept it for science.” Kylo said sarcastically as he opened the linen closet. He tossed out a pillow and a blanket—it was all that he had in there anyway. He didn’t own much. He threw these on the couch. Hopefully Hux would stay there, he had no doubt the man slept in his bed while he passed out in the study. 

“Science or not, the spores will contaminate the rest of the fridge. It’s going out tomorrow.” 

“Do you what you want. Don’t bother me.” 

“What time do you want to wake up?”

“What?” Hux didn’t turn to him, his attention on scrubbing the dry food off the plate. “I wake up whenever I want. Don’t wake me up.” 

“If that’s what you wish.” Hux said, still furiously scrubbing, there was a surprising amount of bubbles on his forearms. Kylo wondered how much of a plate he would have left when he woke up again. 

But he was too tired to deal with it now. It had been a very trying day. He had a strong suspicion that tomorrow would be equally as trying. 

He would figure out how to get rid of Hux tomorrow. Someone had to know.


	4. Chapter 4

“I can’t afford this.”

“You’ll be surprised what you can afford when you cut out take out every night.” Hux scolded as he tossed in yet another bag of produce—this time broccoli into his cart. It was the third store Hux had dragged him off to, starting off with a hardware store and then a clothing store. He was thinking about the debt he would be in when this day was over. 

“I seriously can’t afford this.” His basket was almost full. Hux was getting more food than he usually got. He rarely came to the grocery store. 

“I looked at your finances. I made very careful calculations on the purchases we have made. At the end of this, you should have $22.32 left to spend on whatever you want.”

“Nothing is worth that much. We’re not getting this.” He tried to put some items back onto the shelf but Hux snatched it out of his hands and tossed it back in. 

“Stop being a petulant child, just because you don’t want to eat your greens. You have the budget for this. I checked. Don’t doubt my calculations.” 

Kylo grumbled the whole rest of the way back to his flat. He grumbled as Hux ordered him into his study so he could look for another job as the other man hastily unpacked everything into the fridge. 

He only stopped grumbling when the scent of cooking wafted in through the door. 

“I’m making a stir fry.” Hux said when he came into the kitchen. He didn’t look up from the stove. Kylo was starting to think he could hear all throughout the house. It was unsettling. Inhuman. The old Hux didn’t have that sort of hearing—though he kept getting his greasy nose into other people’s business. 

“Why are you doing this?” He asked, leaning against the table. It was the best view he could get as he watched Hux cook, he wanted to make sure the man didn’t add anything poisonous as he cooked.

“It’s my job. It’s what I was programmed to do.”

“You’re not a robot. You’re human. Or did you forget that?” 

This did make Hux pause. And he turned away from the stove to meet Kylo’s eyes. 

“I reminded you twice already. This will be the third and hopefully the last time I remind you. I am an android. I am programmed to make your life easier. I will cook, clean, and converse with you. If you require me for other needs, tell me. I will add them to my schedule.”

“Is that what Dark Matter does to your brain? Make you think like a robot?”

“Dark matter is a very dangerous substance. I wouldn’t suggest being near it without all the safety precautions. You of all people should know this. You did work very closely with it and sustained an injury. It was all in your file.” 

“Yeah that did happen. And you did nothing but drag me to Snoke to laugh. I remember. Then you snuck off and stole all my research.”

“I am not the person you think I am, Mr. Ren, I assure you. I know whom you speak of.” Hux turned back to the pan, giving it a few firm shakes to move the food around. “You think I’m Armitage Hux, a First Order Director.”

“And you’re going to tell me you’re not?”

“I’m not.” He agreed. He clicked off the burner and grabbed a plate, spooning heaps of food on it with a well practised motion. “I am stylized after him, I assume. Judging by your attitude when you first met me I think they did a very good job. They should be proud.” 

“Robot nannies don’t exist. You have to be—”

“You wouldn’t know if they do exist or not. You’ve been holed up in your room taking plumbing jobs to get money. It is a great insult to me when you say that I don’t exist.” He handed Kylo a fork and dropped the plate in front of him. 

Seconds later, he placed a glass of water next to him. Then went to the sink and started his cleansing process all over again. Kylo glanced back at the plate and stabbed one of the broccoli stems. 

For 10 minutes there was nothing but chewing and running water in the kitchen. 

“Get the Davidson job.” 

“What?” Kylo’s mouth was full when he responded. He hadn’t expected Hux to speak to him.

“I know you’re looking for jobs. Get the Davidson job. You looked at it right before you came. It sounds easy and pays well. You’ll be in and out in 3 hours.”

Kylo briefly remembered the tech job when he clicked on it. But he had pushed it aside because of the poor job description. Sounded like an amateur wrote it. He hated amateurs—most of the time they didn’t even know what was wrong. He wasn’t about to go out just to find out the solution was ‘reboot the computer’. 

“Did the First Order tell you to watch my browsing history?” 

“I told you I cut ties with them the second I woke up. That was their initial plan after all. But I do have access to your browsing history. It makes my job easier. It’s how I got this recipe anyway. You seem to like broccoli and beef from the local chinese takeout. Too much salt if you ask me.”

“Stop it. It’s weird.” Hux smirked. He didn’t need to be facing him to know what expression the man was making. 

“Noted. But no promises.” Hux looked pleased with himself. 

“I’ll take the job. But look at my browsing history again and you’re going to find yourself sitting outside all night.”

“I planned on rearranging your patio furniture anyway. You use it as a storage area. It’s atrocious.” 

“Is that why you want me to take that job?” Hux whisked away his dish with a nasty smile. He didn’t let Kylo argue as he tossed a spoon in his direction and pointed at the freezer. 

“There’s ice cream in the freezer. Don’t eat too much or you won’t be able to sleep.”


End file.
